


The Flames of Change: The Creation

by CrystalNavy



Series: Flames of Change [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-16 08:46:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14161104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/CrystalNavy
Summary: Explores the beginnings of the Revolution





	1. Koala: Serendipity

In the heart of Grand line lay Foolshoot island. It was a quite peaceful island at that. Dragon disembarked from his vessel, and his sole companion followed thereafter. 

"The one we came to recruit is a formidable man. He would be a great boon to our forces." Dragon said

"Who is he?" his companion inquired

"His name is Fisher Tiger. He already rebelled against World Government once. I am sure he'll agree to joining us in the end." Dragon grinned

And so the duo ventured deeper into the island, asking the citizens about Fisher Tiger, but no one knew. At the same time, they noticed that someone was following them, and that someone turned out to be a young girl. About eleven or twelve years old, Dragon noted. She was giving him a strange look. It was the one he had seen before. Accusatory eyes bore into his own.

"I know Fisher Tiger." the girl announced "And I know he won't join your cause, not now and not ever again."

And Dragon saw. This wasn't some act of defiance. No, the way this girl spoke.....was like she was merely stating a fact.

"May I know the reason for this declaration of yours?" Dragon asked politely

"Sure you may!" the girl laughed "The world itself may know! The whole world shall learn the truth, then they will bury it under false tales to ensure they remain in power!"

Dragon's companion flinched upon hearing this

"Follow me and see the truth. The truth that the world will try to deny!"

And so Dragon followed her to a secluded part of an island.

"May I ask your name?" 

"I don't like to use it much." the girl frowned "Not since he passed away. He used to call me by my name, and it still hurts. My name....is Koala...."

There, hidden by the foilage, was a grave. It was still in pristine condition.

Dragon read the inscription on the grave, and he understood

"Here lies Fisher Tiger, a proud Captain, a caring brother and uncle. I, Koala, will be his gravekeeper. One day, we'll meet in Heaven." Dragon recited

Koala raised her upper garment. There, in the middle of her back, lay a red sun, the symbol of Sun Pirates and everything they stood for.

"Mother tried to convince me to get rid of it, but I always refused." Koala continued "Uncle will never join your cause, so I will join it in his stead."

And Dragon felt the taste of success. He was unable to recruit Fisher Tiger himself, but what he found was much more valuable.

It was the day two souls that were destined met for the first time. Together, they would bring the World Government to its knees.


	2. Sabo: The Heritage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blood doesn't matter. He knew it. He had thrown everything away so he can live on unbound by the shackles of his blood. And he paid a hefty price for it in the end.

Sabo was drifting. There was no other way to describe it. He was drifting in the space filled with grey. A voice came out of the grey fog surrounding him. A voice that sounded extremely familiar. The voice was beckoning him to open his eyes, so open his eyes he did. He found himself face-to-face with an a man, a man with scruffy, wild, black hair that almost resembled a mane. 

A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. His father - his biological father - used to put a hand on his shoulder the exact same way. His father, his parents. And his adopted brother. The people who cared nothing for him. The people who only sought to recover him so that they could offer him to some spoiled brat of a princess as her husband. As if. He wouldn't go back to that world, the world that treated him as less than a person. 

He had tried to escape, one last time. He got in an accident, and he was rescued. Yet the one who rescued him, the man who stood before him now, seemed different. Something told Sabo that this man would give him his true home. One he's never had. Yet, the grey area inside of his brain remained, obscuring a part of his life. Perhaps he did have a home before this, and it was just buried somewhere in that grey area. 

Once it was determined that Sabo had recovered enough to be able to walk, the man - Dragon, as Sabo later learned his name was - introduced him to the rest of the members of his group, the Revolutionaries. Koala and Hack, that's what their names were. There were others, Dragon told him, but they were either on missions or too eccentric for Sabo to meet them now. 

Sabo became fascinated with Koala shortly after he met her. He shared a room with her, so he heard her talk in her sleep sometimes.

"Uncle....." she would speak in agonized whisper "Get away from the Marines, Uncle. They will shoot you full of holes....."

The agony in her voice during those times seemed palpable. Sabo suspected that the reason she joined the Revolutionaries lay somewhere within those nightmares. As for him, his reason was simple. He wanted to take everything away from them, from the Celestial Dragons, the people who treated their own children as less of a person and more as an object to be used to climb the social ladder further....

-x-

The news came that Vice Admiral Strawberry had been stationed in their vicinity. The name meant nothing to Sabo, but he could tell it did to Koala, judging by the permanent scowl on her face and the way her hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. She fingered a gun holstered in her belt often, and one night she told him her secret.

"This gun used to belong to 'Adventurer' Fisher Tiger, Hero of the slaves, bane of the World Government." Koala flashed him a smile 

Yet there was a crack there, the same kind of crack he acquired upon learning that his parents cared for their own status more than they cared about him.

As she was his roommate, he saw her undressed sometimes, the red sun tattoo she had on her back drawing his attention like a beacon of some sort. She had called the tattoo 'her pride' when she thought he wouldn't hear. 

He didn't make the connection until he saw an old newspaper in passing. It detailed the capture and passing of Fisher Tiger, Captain of Sun Pirates.

Sun Pirates.

Sun.

Red sun.

He felt like a complete and utter fool. 

A loud noise brought him back to the present. The door closed with a thud. Koala had probably gone out, and she brought her hooded cloak along. Out of curiosity, he decided to follow. What he saw shocked him to his core.

Koala stood there, an angry scowl on her face, pressing the muzzle of the gun against Strawberry's temple

"I am sorry that I'll go back on your legacy this one time, Uncle, but this is the bastard that planned and orchestrated your death." Koala whispered in an angry voice "So forgive me for taking your vengeance."

Sabo turned away. He had seen enough. He and Koala were going to have a heart-to-heart discussion soon.


	3. That which connects us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The future has few suprises in store, and destruction of the Gods will come at their hands

Sabo had tried to find himself something to do, but everyone, including Dragon, turned him away, insisting he was still injured and needed to take it easy. Eventually, he gave in an started spending more time with Koala, going out with her whenever he was allowed to. During these times, Ivan-chan always went with them, becoming his second shadow in the process. He made tons of excuses, but Sabo knew. Knew that Ivan-chan was tugging along because he was worried. Worried that his patient would get worse if he let him out of his sight.

During these outings, Koala told him more about Fisher Tiger, a man who inspired her to join the Revolutionary army. Sabo already knew the basic details, but he couldn't help but feel happy that he heard it straight from her mouth. It meant she trusted him enough to tell him. Koala had been a slave of the Celestial Dragons, but Fisher Tiger had saved her. He did even more than that. He made Koala forget, forget that she was a slave. He went out of his way to bring Koala home to her village. And the villagers repaid his kindness by selling him off to the Marines, who shot him dead.

It made Sabo sick. Was this the reward kind people got for a simple act of kindness? It struck too close to home as well. Because Sabo was a slave too. A slave to a system that didn't appreciate him. A slave to his idiotic father who thought he could just pawn him off to be married to a royal princess with an ego the size of a mountain and a heart the size of a pea. Nope, that wasn't gonna happen. He sailed out to grab his freedom at the first chance he got.

He got shot for his troubles. He died that day, in front of his parents and the whole crowd of people watching. Except that he didn't die. Dragon saved him, and gave him a chance to grab the freedom he had been seeking for so long. Sabo chose the Revolution that day. The choice was stupidly easy. 

And now he was paying the consequences. The fire injured him badly, and he wouldn't be fully healed for a couple of weeks at least, according to Iva-chan.

-x-

Dragon thought about his two sons, both the biological one and the adopted one. Because Sabo was his son. The boy reminded Dragon of himself when he was Sabo's age. Sabo ha spunk and the determination needed to topple the world Government some day. And of course, his son's closeness with Koala didn't go unnoticed either. That was good. He wanted grandkids some day. His biological son when clueless when it came to romance.

And he decided that Sabo will become his second-in-command, his Chief of Staff some day. He kept watch over Sabo and Koala both, observed their progress and assisted their growth whenever he could. And then, one day, everything changed.

He had the chance encounter with a woman who could see the future. She uttered a prophecy that day.

"A girl with an iron will and a boy who commands fire itself will make a change in this world." was what she said

And Dragon knew she was referring to Sabo and Koala.

He called one of the guards and told him to bring Iva and Kuma to his study.

They discussed the topic well into the night and came to a decision.

He summoned Sabo and Koala the very next morning.

"I have your first mission." Dragon fixed them with a hard stare "I want you to assassinate the man who is responsible for your troubles, Sabo. I want you to assassinate the King of Goa Kingdom. You may bring Koala along. By cutting your ties with them, the old you will die and the new one will rise from the ashes as true member of revolutionary army."

There was a pause and then Sabo nodded. 

"Come here, my son." Dragon beckoned with open arms

Sabo ran to him, and two strong arms were wrapped around his torso. This was something his real father had never done.

He left the room that night, more determined than ever not to botch his first mission, not to let his true father down.


	4. Like a Phoenix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We rose out of our own ashes on that day.

They spent quite a lot of time planning. Finally, after the plan was perfected, they got moving. The trip to Goa Kingdom was spent in silence, only broken by occasional sighs. Koala was thinking about the day that everything good ended. She would never forget the day that the nobles and their Marine lapdogs caused the death of the only man she could call 'father'.

Sabo was thinking about Ace, and how the Marines killed him just because of his heritage. 

Sabo and Koala both agreed on one thing. The world was an unfair place. And at least some of the unfairness will be unleashed tonight. 

It was suprisingly easy for Sabo and Koala to pass as a visiting noble couple. Sabo was a noble by birth and still kept some of the traits from that, and Koala had the basics hammered into her by Fisher Tiger and then Dragon. 

And today, they would bring down the vermin that allowed the system that caused their suffering to continue.

No matter what, was their silent agreement.

-x-

The party was lavish. In fact, that was a bit of an understatement. The party was extravagant. A couple of men gathered around Koala and asked her to sing. So she gladly accepted

"This one is for you, Uncle." she said mentally

Then she began to sing.

  
As I was walking deep in sorrow thinking about the times we shared  
A butterfly danced round me, a white cloud in the evening air  
And I knew that your soul was finally home and free  
But it felt like a blessing, a message from you to me  


Sabo listened to her along with the others, and a lone tear rolled down his cheeks. Koala looked like she was elsewhere as she continued.

  
Now you can fly, now you can soar  
So high above this world where troubles are no more  
The time has come to say goodbye  
And let your soul go to heaven on the wings of a butterfly

Now you can fly, now you can soar  
So high above this world where troubles are no more  
This love of ours will never die  
So let your soul go to heaven on the wings of a butterfly  
One day we'll meet again in heaven and we'll fly like that butterfly  


Koala choked up and then she broke down crying. Sabo was right there to comfort her, even though he was crying too.

She turned to him and gently cooped his cheek.

"Chivalry doesn't suit you." she told him "You are the type to romp the countryside, wild and free, unburdened by the shackles of the world."

And then she saw everything clearly. Sabo was Fisher Tiger and Fisher Tiger was Sabo. Both escaped slavery of different kinds and both had lost it all. And she feared, feared that Sabo would end up the same way.

"Please don't die." she murmured "Please don't die like Uncle had."

"I promise." he spoke quietly

He took her hand and they began to dance, blending into the crown perfectly.

They were blissfully unaware of a pair of eyes that was watching them like a hawk the entire time.

"So they're the ones that the prophecy spoke about, the Flame King and the Flame Champion." the King of Goa Kingdom turned to his advisor

"Yes, it appears to be so." his advisor chuckled 

"Then the inevitable can't be delayed. One must sacrifice the battle to win the war." the King sighed "They will undoubtedly succeed in killing me tonight. Don't get in their way. Careful planning is the key to winning the war. With it, you'll have them where you want them, then you shall crush them. We can't allow the prophecy to come true, no matter what."

"As you wish, sire." the advisor bowed slightly

-x-

It had been easy to fulfill the mission. Almost too easy. And as Sabo and Koala were heading towards the rendezvous point, they heard the crowd whispering about a prophecy of some kind. This got them curious, and they made a silent agreement to ask Dragon about it once they got back to their base.

And as soon as they arrived, they set out to fulfill their agreement. Dragon was in his office, browsing through some papers.

"What's this about the prophecy?" Sabo demanded as he and Koala stormed into the office

"So you've heard." Dragon looked up, with a smirk on his face "That the prophecy is about the two of you. The Flame King, who can harness the power of living flames themselves, and his Flame Champion, a girl who has lost everything. You two are prophesized to destroy the current system we have. No doubt the nobles and the Marines alike will try their hardest to kill you. You two are the hope of Revolutionary army."

"Doesn't that put us in danger?" Koala inquired

"Normally it would, but I've known about the prophecy for a long time. That prophecy was why I started the revolution. I've gathered people capable of protecting those that the prophecy was referring to, should I find them. And I did find both of you indeed. The assassination was a test to see if you are truly ready to face this."

There was silence before Sabo and Koala nodded slowly

"Well, then, get some rest." Dragon shooed them away "Tomorrow at dawn, we're changing base. No doubt someone followed you and found our current one. No doubt as a part of some elaborate plan to kill you both."

-x-

In a remote laboratory sanctioned by the government, many scientist were working on developing a biological weapon to use in order to put the stop to the prophecy once and for all. One of scientist moved away from the others, before pulling out a Den Den mushi.

"Hello, Boss. Yes, they are making a breakthrough.....yes.....Yes, I will do it boss."

He lit up a cigarette and threw the lighter onto the nearest flammable liquid, watching as fire started in grim satisfaction. He would gladly throw his life away for them, so that the product of this research never harmed either of them. 

He practically raised them both, after all.

Smiling, Jiru Morino, a revolutionary, drew his last puff of smoke.

He was watching Sabo and Koala in slow motion, as they grinned at him one last time.

And then his world exploded.

-x-

"There are soldiers in front of us." Hack whispered "No doubt they're checking if there is anything illegal.

Other than himself, three other people were seated in that particular carriage: Sabo, Koala and Dragon himself

"No." Dragon solemnly said "They're not there for that. Hack, come with me."

Sabo and Koala watched them leave, before giving each other a meaningful glance.

Then they left the carriage as well, putting their hoodies up. 

Flame flickered in Sabo's hand as he threw a ball of fire onto the officials.

"It's them!" the man in charge exclaimed "It's our targets!" 

He pulled out a rapier and advanced towards Sabo and Koala menacingly, before Dragon delivered a powerful kick

"Don't you dare touch my children...." Dragon hissed, looking very much like his namesake at that moment

There was no doubt that history would be made that night, for better or for worse. Dragon and Hack pushed Sabo and Koala behind them, as they both glared at the army leader, who glared back.

"You killed Portgas D. Ace and Fisher Tiger, the people that my children cared about, and now you seek to kill my children themselves. I will definitely not forgive you."

"It's all in the name of justice." the army leader recited

"Did the World Nobles make you rehearse those words?" Dragon mocked

With that, the two of them lunged at each other. One wanted to destroy the prophecy bearers, and the other wanted to protect them.

One of them would die today.

"Leave here!" Dragon told his subordinates "And make sure my children stay safe!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens......


End file.
